I use standard focal length quite a lot in people and street photography. I like the fact that the proportions and viewpoints appear natural and less distorted than when using a wide-angle lens. When out with my camera, I usually have at least one standard ;lens with me at all times. This time I had my Canon 5D MII with a 45 to 70 mm zoom lens.
Image 1
I asked the lady's permission to take her photos as I thought she and her dog looked spectacular. This image was taken with a 50 mm focal length. I tried to use the natural lines formed by the window frame and the wall immediately behind the lady to lead the viewer's gaze to the main subject. I decided to position them at an angle to the lens (so the lady's feet are not facing the camera and the dog is facing the other way) to match the directions of the natural lines within the frame. I think this helped to make the (otherwise quite a simple and straightforward) image more interesting. In post-production, I decided to go for a single-tone version to enhance the natural lines within the frame.
It was easy to approach the lady and she was happy to give me the permission to take the photos. We ended up chatting about her dog and dogs in general and I felt it was really nice to connect to her for a brief moment.
For these images I set my camera to 1/125 sec at f/ 5.6, ISO 50 as I wanted to get bright images with fine grain. The natural light was sufficient for me to keep the ISO setting low at 50. I used an equivalent of 50 mm focal length for these shots.
I had plenty of time and space to work out the best position and framing so in terms of composition I am pleased with how the images turned out. Good natural light also meant that it was easy to set the camera white balance setting so there wasn't a need for any colour correction work at a post-production stage. Using a standard lens meant that there was no need for any adjustments to the perspective etc as all the proportions and lines within the frames were natural.
Images 5 and 6 were taken at the Mill Road Winter Fair in Cambridge.
The day was overcast so I had to push the ISO setting up to 200. I used the equivalent of 50 mm focal length for these shots.
The camera exposure settings were 1/180 at f/ 6.7. I deliberately tilted the camera for Image 5 to create a sense of movement although my subject was not moving (only pretending to ride the knitted bike!). Using the standard focal length meant that I was standing at a comfortable distance - not too close and not too far and was able to communicate to the 'rider'.
I spotted these two girls chatting along whilst waiting for their turn to perform. I did not want to intimidate them too much with my camera but as I was already standing quite close to them my standard lens was all that I needed for this shot. I like that the image includes some other brightly dressed people on the background and I think that this helps to convey the atmosphere of the event.
Taking a photo of the girls with a telephoto lens would create quite a different effect as the background details would likely to be blurred. I am including a photo taken with a 200 mm telephoto lens below to demonstrate the difference.
